Pakistan’s Inter-Ministerial Scrutiny Committee headed by federal secretary has held a meeting today in Islamabad to decide on giving permission for tuna fishing to those who have responded to the directorate of fishing’s invitation for expressions of interest last month.
The first invitation advertised in a newspaper in mid-June sought expression of interests from those who want to invest in setting up a whole supply chain tuna fish industry that will warrant investment in fixed assets as well as ship factories and organize training for the local fishermen. But a second advertisement appeared last week of June omitted all these conditions for investment and training of tuna fishing and hence leaving the entire field open to those who come from abroad -mostly or rather mainly from Taiwan- to operate from Pakistani shores and harvest rich tuna that fetch a big price in the international market.
“It is an invitation that is tailor-made for giant foreign trawlers that fish tuna in Pakistani waters and beyond Economic Zone and have been depleting our resources for decades,†Tehmasp H. Baig, a local businessman with interest in fish, remarked.
Tehmasp Baig, who is Chairman of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s Core Group on Fisheries, does not mince words to blame the federal ministry of food and agriculture for following a policy for the last 16 years that served the interest of foreign fish trawlers.
He contends that he has taken up the tuna fish issue at the highest government level from where there are clear instructions to carry out a stock survey of tuna resources in Pakistani waters before granting any permission to fish. But contrary to these instructions, the ministry of food and agriculture issued 26 licenses to foreign industrial tuna factory ships in February last year and plans to issue more licenses on Friday.
Official statistics show that tuna fish catch dropped from more than 42,000 tons in 1993 to 17,000 tons in 1994 and to 13,000 tons in 1995. Experts explain that tuna is a migratory fish, which is present in Pakistani waters but keeps on changing locations. They attribute the fall in catch to the fishing by big tuna factory ships.
These tuna factory ships -almost all of these belong to Taiwanese- operate from Pakistani shores and employ Pakistanis as loaders only. No Pakistani is employed as technician or processor on the ship.
Pakistan enjoys the reputation of being home to the most sought after delicacy yellow fin tuna that is sold in Osaka (Japan) and in the US and Europe for $25-30 a kg. Foreign trawlers give it at maximum four dollars a kg. Small Pakistani boats that catch tuna hardly earn 20 cents for a kg from Sri Lanka and 50 cents a kg from Iran.
“What we need is to develop a supply chain from sea to on-land factory and then export them to the markets in Japan, Europe and the US,†Mr. Tehmasp argues.
He is himself a contender for setting up tuna fish industry in Pakistan, which according to him has potential to earn one billion dollars a year. He is convinced that it will open field to many Pakistani investors and real beneficiaries will be Pakistani fishermen mainly in Balochistan.
Source: Pakistan Press